I'll let you know right off the bat. The machine prints are great! I've had the machine for a while and finally had a chance to put it together. Putting it together is generous because it's only two bolts in each vertical and plugging in a few wires. It takes all of 15 minutes.
When taking it out of the box, you realize it is a pretty big build plate compared to the Ender 3. The Ender 3 is 235 mm x 235 mm, and the Max is 300 mm x 300 mm.
The numbers don't seem like a significant change, but it opens up many new models. I have never thought I needed any larger machine than my Airwolf, but you realize it will be fun once you get one.
I can now print the lid and the base on a box model simultaneously. It saves the time of slicing twice and loading twice! I can also print helmets now that are all the rage.
Let's talk about how I got the machine printing as well as it is. I first put it together and fired it up to see if everything worked. I moved all the axis and tested the heat for the bed and hotend. I like to run a PID tune right away and calibrate the esteps after adding the red extruder, Capricorn tuber, and yellow springs to every Ender I get. The first problem I ran into is the red extruder doesn't line up with the filament sensor. It looks the same but, it is a little off and, you can't load filament. The Max has a black metal extruder and should be ok, so I left it on. after that, I had trouble keeping the bed from adjusting itself and had to tighten the belt and the eccentric nut. After those adjustments, the bed still seemed to be going in and out of level; I couldn't figure it out. I ran a few prints trying to live adjust with lots of glue but still had problems. I leveled again and tried one more time. When the print traveled up the z axis and back down, I noticed it was moving erratically. I had to adjust the eccentric nut again but on the side with the linear rod. Once that was tighter, I releveled and ran a print. Voila, everything was beautiful!
I have printed quite a few models from Printables.com, the replacement for Thingiverse, and they are all coming out perfect. I love this machine! It is exactly like an Ender but in maximum size. Hence why they named it the Max.
Mentioning Printables.com, I will do a write-up next on the renamed Prusa model site. I will let you in on a bit of a secret. I think it is the site we all wanted for 3d printing models. Until next time keep those machines humming and your filament dry!
